Head of Production's Guide to Overcoming Commercial Financial Delays

Financial delays… they can be the cause of some serious headaches for production heads. From pushed back deadlines, increased costs due to extended timelines and strains on vendor relationships, it’s the kind of thing that keeps producers up at night.

And it’s especially common for production leads at brands or agencies to be stuck at the mercy of their in-house finance departments' lengthy approval processes for budgets.

While your organization has 30+ day approvals… you have vendors, talent and crew with rigorous payment due dates– and missing those deadlines means… you guessed it… more costs.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way. Below, we’re giving production leaders the cheat code to put the nuisances of financial delays to rest for good. 

5 Ways Slow In-House Financial Approval Can Affect Your Production

For most commercial productions, slow access to funds is a recipe for disaster. The quick natured turn around of commercials demonstrates the need for expedited funds to ensure success… and when that can’t happen, serious bottlenecks occur. Do any of the following sound familiar?

1. Delayed project launches

   Financial approval is what gets your commercial wheels moving, and until all financial decisions are given the greenlight, your commercial will find itself at a complete halt. With film projects– especially for commercials - they often have strict timelines due to market trends and advertising slots. Missed deadlines can compromise the entirety of your commercial success as they risk missing critical market windows and advertising opportunities.

2. Cash flow challenges

   Facing financial delays for your production completely disrupts how you manage cash flow for your production. Without proper cash flow management, your company can further struggle to pay your team and bills on time and even struggle to invest in future commercial projects affecting the overall health of your film company. 

   When managing cash flow for your upcoming commercial production, you typically require upfront investments for different reasons such as talent payroll, studio time and equipment rental. Delayed financial approvals will cause late payments that can lead to additional penalty fees.

3. Strain on client relationships

   For Head of Productions at agencies, clients expect their commercials to be delivered according to the agreed timeline. Client’s have strict  deadlines attached to their campaigns. Delayed financial approvals can impede your productions ability to meet their set deadlines and can strain your agency’s relationship with the client for future productions.  Overcoming financial delays is essential for maintaining control over the budget and ensuring that the project stays within their budget.

4. Loss of competitive edge

   For Head of Productions at brands, a delayed production could mean losing out on a timely campaign. For example, if a Valentine’s Day commercial shoot gets delayed– you risk not getting post and launch completed in time for the holiday. 

   On the flip side for agencies, delivering content in a timely manner is what puts them on the spotlight as a high competitor. It then becomes essential for the head of production to address slow financial approvals as fast as possible to continue obtaining new projects in the future.

5. Union penalties and legal issues

   A frequently disregarded consequence of delayed financial approvals in commercial productions is the effect on compensating talent and crew. Delayed payroll to talent and crew can result in union grievances or claims as it violates their well-defined payment terms in their contracts. Failing to adhere to these terms not only undermines the trust and positive relationships crucial for seamless production but can also add costs to your production budget.

How Outsourcing Your Back-Office Can Mitigate These Issues

As production agencies strive for agility and competitiveness, the need to get past the red tape for all things financial becomes increasingly evident. If your in-house financing bureaucracy is proving to be a bottleneck– not all hope is lost. Outsourcing back-office tasks is a great  solution to mitigate these issues. Production support providers are specializing in managing the back office functions of commercial productions and offer you and your team numerous of advantages including:

1. Quick access to funds

   Third-party back-office team’s like CMS Productions have the financial resources to provide quick access to funds without having to wait on approvals from your higher ups. With quick services such as issuance of purchasing cards and petty cash, your team can access the funds instantly allowing your team to get started on your commercial right away avoiding any delays for your production.

2. Improved cash flow management

   Outsourcing production support services has the set up your production needs to address cash flow challenges by guaranteeing the availability of funds as required, allowing your agency to manage its financial responsibilities more effectively.

   By leveraging third-party production support, you gain access to production floats that serve as a financial safety net. These additional funds can be strategically utilized to cover unforeseen expenses or bridge financial gaps, ensuring that your production stays on track without disruptions. This proactive financial approach minimizes the risk of setbacks due to financial constraints, fostering a more resilient and streamlined production process. 

3. Expanding and contracting back office functions with project demand

   Outsourcing back office affair functions presents a strategic alternative that eliminates the need to bring in additional in-house financial resources, avoiding an increase in overhead costs. The beauty of outsourcing lies in its flexibility; outsourced providers can seamlessly expand or contract our financial support in alignment with project demand. This approach allows for a more efficient allocation of resources, ensuring that your production remains responsive to project fluctuations, and cost-effective without compromising on quality or expertise.

4. Streamlined operations

   Outsourcing your financial operations provides a qualified team of experts ready to handle all your back-office affair operations including: 

   • Cash flow management 

   • Insurance 

   • Accounting 

   • Purchasing cards 

   • Petty cash 

   • Budgeting  

   This is extremely helpful in reducing the administrative burden on your production team allowing you to focus on the creative work at hand.

5. Quality control

   Having a group of experts available to help guide you against any bumps in the road is another great use of third party production support. They are able to step in and mitigate financial risks quickly and as effectively as possible so your production can stay on track to meet important deadlines, for example:

   • Navigating production insurances: Assist and match you with the right production insurance to protect yourself and your production. 

   • Quick access to funds: Outsourcing production support can issue your production petty cash and purchasing cards that can cover unforeseen costs. 

   • Streamline cash flow management: They can help keep track of money coming in for and being disbursed for production. They can also act as a safety net providing production floats.

6. Specialized expertise

   Working with a third party production support team includes having a team of experts specialized in knowledge and skills needed to oversee your productions finances navigating your team to a more streamlined financial management from set up to wrap.

Conclusion: Eliminate Commercial Production Financial Delay Risk for Good

In conclusion, a successful production involves meeting timely deadlines for your client’s projects. For the head of production, this includes having quick access to financial resources your commercial needs to get started. 

Avoid the delays with outsourcing your back-office financial affairs to ensure financial affairs are no longer an obstacle and your production can run smoothly. 

CMS Productions offers a full suite of back-office production services to help you improve productivity and improve operational costs. Is your team in need of our support? Contact us today to set up a call.